Dixon Blood
by Anime Wildfire
Summary: Daryl and Carol knew each other once, years ago, before the dead rose, and Carol has been carrying a secret from Daryl ever since… "Sophia wasn't mine!" then why did Daryl care so much? Sophia lives fic. Caryl.
1. Beginning

I have absolutely no business starting a new story, not with how much I've slacked on my other ones. But this has been lurking in my brain for several weeks and MAYBE if i can get it out, i can finally finish some of my other ones. That and my flash drive with most of my documents was destroyed so that's been a bit of a dream killer -_-

I've never written for the walking dead before but i really wanted to give it a try. Daryl Carol all the way!

Also, if you have any ideas of what you would like to see in this story, let me know. I'd love to hear what you think!

Disclaimer- I don't own the walking dead or Caryl would have already happened by now. Obviously.

* * *

"_Daryl wait!" The petite woman raced out the door after her friend, ignoring the loud slam of the screen door behind her. It was a warm night in the small Georgia town, the summer heat absent thanks to the setting sun hours earlier._

_The young man stomped down the road, heading straight for the patch of woods at the end of the block, completely ignoring her voice until suddenly she was right behind him, hand reaching out to touch his shoulder._

"_Why do you stay with him Carol?!" He shouted suddenly, whipping around to face her. She faltered and dropped her hand, stunned._

"_He's my husband." She replied, unable to meet his gaze._

"_He's yer husband-" Daryl scoffed, shaking his head. "Last I checked, husbands weren't suppost to beat the shit out of their wives." Her head shot up, eyes wide and she inhaled sharply._

"_What? You think I wouldn't notice he was beaten' on ya?" Carol opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't say anything, eventually averting her eyes from Daryl's._

"_I thought-" she started, but faltered._

"_Ya thought what?!" Daryl's temper flared "Ya thought I wouldn't notice? Hell, the whole town probably knows! Damn Carol…"_

_Several moments of silence passed, neither daring to say a word, until finally Carol spoke._

"_It's not that bad." She knew how he'd react, and when she saw the rage that appeared on his face she knew she was right._

"_How can ya stand there n' say that when last week you had a black eye!"_

"_I can't leave him." She insisted, her eyes firm. She was stubborn; the most stubborn gal he'd ever met, there was no denying that…_

"_Why the hell not? Ya give me one good reason why ya can't leave that piece of shit!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger in the general direction of her home._

"_I'm pregnant."_

_There was dead silence as he stared at her, one hand still pointed towards her home, his bright blue eyes wide with shock as the news settled. She swallowed hard and blinked, and the spell was broken. Suddenly he launched himself at the nearest tree, slamming his fist into the trunk so hard she thought the trunk would crack._

"_Daryl!" she cried out in alarm, racing over to inspect his knuckle._

"_You're pr-" he turned away from her, his fists clenched. Blood was flowing freely down the hand he used to punch the tree. She stared at the bright angel wings then enveloped the back of that stupid jacket he'd worn since high school, staring hard enough to bore a hole in it._

"_Did he force ya Carol?" She didn't answer the question, and that only made him angrier._

"_If he forced ya I swear I'll beat tha livin' hell outa him!" he was shouting even louder now, and her refusal to answer was not helping._

"_Damn it woman say somethin'!" _

"_I'm sorry." She didn't know what else there was to say, didn't know what to do. Turns out she didn't have to say anything. Pain rippled through her belly, almost sending her to her knees. She was less than 3 months along how could this happen? She let out a cry of pain and collapsed, the world going dark around her._

"_CAROL!"_

_I can't lose this baby too…_

_-0-_

Of course Carol recognized Daryl the moment she laid eyes on him and his brother. How could she not? He was different now, of course. He'd grown and changed, but his eyes were the same bright blue she remembered from over 12 years ago. But she was afraid, while he changed a little, she had changed a lot. So she kept her head down, averted her eyes and kept away from him as best she could. And with Ed always barking orders and keeping her busy, it was easy to avoid Daryl Dixon.

But still, she couldn't help but sneak glances at him whenever she saw him. Admiring how well he'd changed since she'd seen him. He'd certainly aged well…

She had been 10, he 8 the first time they ever met. Riding the same bus to the worn down middle school in the small Georgia town. Come to think of it, that year was the only time she ever saw him ride the bus. He was the last person on, and even at that age the other children knew who he was and knew not to sit next to him. She was the only person who didn't block the empty seat next to her when Daryl Dixon climbed aboard the bus. When he reached her seat, she met his gaze, and to this day she'll never forget how bright blue his eyes were. She had yet to ever meet someone with eyes the same shade of blue as Daryl. He'd sat next to her, and from that day on they shared a bond, a bond she would later find out, could never be broken.

They didn't become instant friends, but sat together on the bus the entire year. He didn't say much, just let her chatter on and on about anything and everything, her parents, her favorite stuffed animal, the flowers in her mother's garden. Sometimes she sat with him at lunch, and sometimes he was missing from school for several days or a week and she sat with her friends until he returned, dark circles under his eyes and the faint shadows of a bruise on his cheek.

After that year ended, she didn't see him much until high school, just the occasional glimpse of him around town here and there until he reached 9th grade. She was 17 and two years older than him, but that didn't stop her from caring. She still rode the bus every day, and almost every day she saw him walking home from school despite the fact he lived far away enough to ride the bus. He wore the same leather jacket with angel wings and carried the same worn out back pack every day. In fact, she never saw him with a different one. People laughed and made fun of her, on yes, others ridiculed her for befriending the younger of the Dixon brothers, told her he was good for nothing, a trouble maker, someone she couldn't trust. But they didn't notice the shadows under his eyes, the thin scars on his body and the faint outlook of bruises on his cheeks. Not like she did, they didn't care like she did.

It took her a year to crack his shell. An entire year for him to learn she wasn't going to throw him under the bus like everyone else had. It took saving his life to get him to trust her.

It was a miserable day, a wet one. The kind you woke up too in the morning and just knew was gonna suck. She rode the bus to school that morning as usual, but didn't see him walking like normal. He wasn't at school when she got there, and he didn't show all day. She was worried sick by her second to last class, worried enough to ditch despite the fact she'd only missed school twice in her life.

She knew where he lived. Everyone knew where the Dixons lived, and avoided the place like they might catch something just by walking near the house. It was on a dead end, only a block or two from the modest neighborhood where she lived with her parents. It was sheer worry that made her get off the bus near the Dixon home that day. She could see the anxious and wide-eyed faces of the students on the bus as she got off, looking at her like they might never see her again. She was not to be swayed.

She avoided the house and headed straight through the woods, for the willow tree next to the creek she'd heard Daryl mention many times before. The house was quiet, but she avoided it none the less. The whole town knew of Will Dixon's famous temper.

"Daryl?" She called when the willow tree finally came in sight. It was a big tree, stretching over the creek like it had been there hundreds of years. "Daryl?"

"Well well well, if it ain't Ross."

Carol rolled her eyes at the sound of her last name coming out of Merle Dixon's mouth. She knew Merle all right, numerous occasions she'd walked out of school with Daryl to find Merle waiting for him, a cocky grin on his face and an attitude to match.

"Shut up Merle, where's Daryl?"

"Dunno, ain't seen Darylina around all day little missy." Carol tried not to let her fear show. She swallowed hard.

"He wasn't at school today, I'm worried." Merle laughed, as if that was a normal thing to do when his brother was missing.

"Dontchu worry about Darylina, he's prolly fine holed up somewhere." Carol grit her teeth and picked up a small pebble, hurling it at the older Dixon brother.

"Get out of here Merle, you aren't helping." Merle just laughed and let her be, his laughter following him until her disappeared out of her sight. Carol put Merle out of her mind and returned to her search of Daryl.

She checked around the willow, finding nothing, then made her way upstream, calling Daryl's name as she went and searching carefully for him. She searched for a long time, and if she hadn't been looking so carefully she would have missed it- the tiniest, smallest drop of blood on a rock in the creek. Carol was no tracker, but she knew Daryl was, and she knew Daryl would be well hidden, buried deep somewhere like he was planning on hibernating for the winter.

"Daryl?" Carol called out softly, her eyes sweeping the creek for any sign of her best friend. Nothing. Tears began to blur her vision as possibilities ran through her brain. What if he was hurt and she never found him? What if he died alone, holed up somewhere?

Despaired, Carol sat down on a rock and began to cry, unable to hold the tears back, as they spilled down her cheeks. She cried for several minutes, until the tears wouldn't come down anymore, until her sobs turned to sniffles and she knew she couldn't sit her forever, not while Daryl was waiting.

"I'm coming Daryl. I'm coming." She stood up abruptly, almost slipping and getting soaked in the stream, but she righted herself and keep searching, pouring over everything around that one tiny drop of blood.

It took her several minutes to find it. A tiny, second drop of blood on the branch of a tree several feet ahead, then another, and another, until Carol found herself staring at a very smeared bloody handprint on a rock.

He was nearby, she just knew it. So she began to search again, and before long noticed a thin strip of black cloth through branches near a tree. She waded closer, her boots splashing loudly in the creek.

"Oh my-" He was there. Hidden in an embank she didn't even know was about beneath an ancient tree. And instantly she could see the blood.

He was asleep when she found him, blood smearing his forehead and still flowing from a wound on his skull. His nose was bleeding too, and she could see blood smeared and flowing from somewhere on his chest as well.

"DARYL!" Carol screamed and launched herself at him, caressing his face gently with her hand and getting it covered in blood.

"Daryl, you gotta wake up DARYL come one!" His eyelids fluttered open softly as she caressed his cheek and his baby blues met her own blue eyes.

"Car-" he was cut off as a groan shot through him.

"We have to get you to the hospital now." Carol insisted, trying to gently slide his arm around her shoulders. It took a couple tries, but she finally was able to get it as comfortable as possible and help him up.

"Can you walk?" She asked as he leaned heavily onto her.

"Thin' so." He mumbled. As quickly as she could one handed, Carol removed the thin pink sweater she had around her shoulders and gently pressed it to the wound on his head.

"Let's get you some help." They began hobbling through the woods, Daryl leaning onto Carol with a pink sweater pressed to his forehead.

It took them almost an hour to get out of the woods and to the hospital. They gave the nurses such a sight, tiny Carol dragging in the youngest Dixon brother banged and bruised with a pink sweater pressed to his head and Carol's hands covered in blood. A week or two later Daryl was finally released against medical advice. Neither Merle nor their dad came to visit Daryl, but Carol came every day, bringing her school bag with her and both of their homework as well. Insisting he keep up with his work so he wouldn't fall behind.

Daryl had two broken ribs, a concussion, a bruised nose and a broken thumb. But he had found someone to trust, and from that day on, Daryl changed around Carol. She didn't ask what happened, she didn't need to, and he didn't tell. But he began to open up to her, and suddenly, the pair was almost inseparable her entire senior year of high school, when Carol was 18 and Daryl was 16. That was the year he taught her to fish in the deeper parts of the creek, showed her the small wooden carvings he made without any instruction how.

But it all came crashing down right after Carol graduated, when both her parents were killed in a devastating car crash.

She shut down. If it hadn't been for Daryl, she wouldn't have survived. He was her knight in shining armor, her hero. He didn't say much, and Daryl wasn't the touching type, so he didn't, except when she needed it. But mostly he was just there, making sure she had something to live for.

And then Ed Peleiter came into her life. Carol was in college, slowly attending Georgia State while she healed after her parents. But she always had time for Daryl. He came over mostly in the evenings, in the house her parents had left for her. She helped him with his school work; encouraged him to finish high school like no one had before. Ed was charming, handsome, and played football for the school. He wooed her like no man had ever done before. (Like no man had ever dared or been able to with Daryl around) And when he'd been hurt in college and couldn't play anymore, said he needed her in his life. And just like that, within two years she was 20 and married.

Daryl had begged her not to marry him, he knew there was something fishy about Ed Peleiter, didn't trust him one bit. But she hadn't listened. Why hadn't she listened?

The first two years of their marriage were peaceful, passed by way too quickly. Daryl graduated high school the same year she married Ed, and she was the only one who was there to cheer him on.

Daryl became moody and withdrawn after she graduated, spending less time with her and more time in the woods and with Merle than he used to. She'd go for weeks without even seeing him and then he'd appear out of nowhere with a fresh bruise on his face and a story to tell her while she patched him up.

It wasn't until after her first miscarriage that the beating started.

It hadn't been planned, not at all. But Carol was still devastated. She hadn't even gotten to tell Daryl yet when it happened, even though she was barely a month along. Ed changed after that, starting with verbal abuse, and then swiftly progressing to physical abuse.

She never told Daryl about the problems in her marriage, didn't want him to worry about her when she knew he had problems at home. But then, when she was 23 and Daryl was a hot headed 21 year old (the fact that he legally able to drink may have had something to do with it, not that it had stopped him when he was younger) she made a mistake that would change both of their lives forever.

"_Daryl…" His eyes were so blue she found herself lost in them. He was staring at her face, watching her. His hand reached up to gently touch his finger tips to her face._

"_Daryl, this can't happen again."_

_They were alone in his room, curled up on his bed, a blanket draped loosely over them. His father out at the bar like he was every night and Merle was in prison for drugs again. It was just the two of them, she could feel Daryl's warm arm wrapped around her bare flesh. She never meant for this to happen._

"_I want to tell you something." She said softly, she could feel his face against her neck, his soft breathing as he curled against her. She had to tell him, tell someone before she burst._

"_Ya got somethin' ta say just say it." He mumbled against her flesh. Carol took a deep breath; mentally preparing herself for the outrage she knew was coming._

"_I had a miscarriage." She said softly. She felt him stiffen behind her, his hands curl into a fist. She knew he wouldn't be happy._

"_When." _

"_Couple weeks ago." She replied softly, fiddling with the edge of the blanket in her hand. He didn't have time to react before the tears began to fall and the sniffling began._

"_It was so early on but-" she broke off as her sobs interrupted her "I wanted that baby and now that it's gone-" this time Daryl interrupted her, pressing his lips to hers, cupping her face in his hands._

"_I haven't had anyone to talk to about it." She breathed softly after they broke apart, the tears still streaming down her face. He wiped them away with his thumbs in a very un-Daryl like gesture. _

"_I'm sorry Carol." Was all he said, and that was all she needed. She buried herself in his arms, and he let her, offering the comfort he was always giving her._

_They stayed curled together for a while longer, until Carol knew she had to leave, to go back to her husband even though she knew she would never forget this night. He watched her dress, before pulling on a pair of jeans and forgoing a shirt. She had seen his scars many times now. Carol tried to ignore his bare upper torso, knowing the long hours he spent hunting helped carve his body like Michelangelo's David._

"_Daryl…" she turned to face him. "We can't do this again. I'm married and I just cheated on my husband." Daryl's answer was to lean down and kiss her. She snorted after he pulled away. Typical Daryl. He never followed the rules._

Carol was pulled back to the present as she watched Daryl march into camp with his crossbow over his shoulder and several squirrels tied to his belt. She had to bite back a laugh; he still had that old crossbow? That thing had to be 100 years old by now…

She watched Daryl toss the squirrels to Dale, not even saying a word before he marched over to the tent he shared with Merle. Carol watched him go, trying not the stare at the muscles in his arms as he left. Oh yes, she remembered those arms. There was no way she could ever in a million years forget Daryl Dixon.

He was Sophia's biological father.

* * *

I'm sure you all saw this coming, you guys figure everything out lol

like i said, this story has been burning in my brain for weeks. I can't promise regular updates, but will try my best to continue on with this story. I know Daryl seems a little off character, but I changed his personality a little bit from his childhood due to his relationship with Carol. By the way, does anyone know how old Daryl was when his mother died in the fire? I don't recall them saying.

Anyways, reviews help! So does constructive criticism...


	2. Try

Haha I absolutely love this chapter! Ps. I've made some notes at the end, be sure to read them to get something insight about how i'm writing the characters for this story!

disclaimer: the producers wouldn't know what hit them if I owned the walking dead. That is all.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Where there is desire_

_There is gonna be a flame_

_Where there is a flame_

_Someone's bound to get burned_

_But just because it burns_

_Doesn't mean you're gonna die_

_You gotta get up and try and try and try_

_-Pink, Try_

Sophia looked just like him. She knew it the moment her child was placed into her arms and she gazed into her eyes, revealing the most beautiful blue she'd ever seen. Just like him. Just like Daryl. She had blonde hair, unlike Carol or Daryl's dark hair, but it was wavy, almost curly and it reminded her too much of Merle's curly hair. Her freckles were from Carol, and her nose, but her lips pouted in way that only could have come from her father.

She thanked God for this little girl, this one gift, one reminder of Daryl that she would never forget. If she could never have him, she could have the next best thing.

-0-

"Carol!" Andrea waved at Carol, a basket of laundry tucked under one arm.

"We're going to go do some wash in the lake, wanna come?" Amy and Jacqui stood several feet away, gathering clothes to be washed.

"Sure, let me grab the wash." Carol disappeared into the tent she shared with Ed and Sophia, returning minutes later with a storage container filled with clothes. As she followed Andrea, she noticed a pile of smelly clothes outside a tent that could only belong to the Dixons. She added it to her pile without a second thought and followed Andrea to the lake.

-0-

Daryl kept to himself enough that at first he didn't even notice it was Carol. He knew she had a daughter, but didn't know her name and certainly didn't recognize her husband. But Merle did.

Merle recognized the mouse as he called her the moment she and her jerk husband had joined their group at the quarry. Her hair was a lot shorter than he remembered, but her eyes were still bright blue, even though she didn't look any of them in the eye. She kept her head down, nice and quiet like a perfect little housewife.

Merle never did understand why she befriended Daryl. She was the popular type, beautiful, came from a good family. And she was two years older. He could see why Daryl had followed her around like he'd never seen a woman before. She'd had eyes as blue as the sky and soft dark hair that fell in waves.

But then she was gone a couple years after marrying that no go Peleiter, moved out of town like she had never been there before. And Merle got his baby brother back, but he was different, more moody and withdrawn after Carol was gone. Merle knew he missed the mouse, and he had plenty of things to do to distract Daryl from her. But he couldn't resist teasing Daryl about her every chance he got.

His baby brother was only 33 when the dead rose to eat the living, forcing the two of them to flee the home they'd lived in since after their mama had died. They'd holed up in a hunting cabin for several weeks before finally joining a group of survivors headed for the quarry.

Merle saw her alone one day, gathering laundry only a week or two after they got to the quarry. Daryl had gone hunting alone and left Merle back at this boring ass camp. So he decided it was time to have a little chat with the mouse.

"Well well little Ross, how you been?" She jerked up in surprise at the sound of her maiden name, her eyes once again not meeting his.

"Hello Merle, do you and your brother have any laundry needing done?"

"You think I came here to talk to you about laundry little mouse?" He leaned against the tree, smirking at her.

"Frankly I don't know what you came to talk to me about." She replied, raising her eyebrow at him as she carefully added one of Merle's shirts into her pile.

"I'm startin' to see why my brother followed you around so much. You're a spicy little mouse." Always working the Dixon charm, just like she remembered from years ago. Then his face grew somber as he watched her.

"That sonofabitch still beatin' on ya?" Carol's head shot up in alarm, but before she could say anything Sophia came running towards her.

"Mama, daddy's looking for you." Carol smiled sweetly at her daughter, and Merle figured it was the first time he'd seen her smile here at all.

Merle glanced over at Sophia and when her striking blue eyes met his, just for a brief second, he could have sworn he was staring at young Daryl again. He shrugged it off.

"Alright, come on sweetie." Carol put her hand on her daughter's shoulder to lead her away, but Merle's hand gripping her arm suddenly stopped her. He leaned in close, whispering in her ear.

"If that fat shit beats ya again, you jest give a shout out to old Merle and I'll fix it fer ya." His eyes were cold, serious. And she knew if she took him up on his offer, he and Daryl would fix it permanently. She remembered that Merle had been in the Marines at some point in his youth, but that didn't explain his caring attitude towards her.

-0-

Of course Daryl recognized her. How could he not? She was the woman who haunted his dreams since he was a young kid. His Carol. He recognized her, but he had no idea how to approach her. Not after almost 13 years, not when he barely knew how to speak to women at all.

He immediately recognized the signs of abuse. The sick bastard was still beating her. Just thinking about it made Daryl's blood boil.

He'd come back his hunt to find that Merle had been left behind in Atlanta by this Rick Grimes guy. He was furious, demanding they go back to save his brother.

They hadn't found Merle, just his hand, but had come back to find the camp in chaos, walkers everywhere taking people down, people screaming, guns firing.

"BABY! CARL!" Rick was shouting for his wife and son besides him, so he whipped a gun out and started shooting walkers. Rick shot past him and enveloped Carl in his embrace, Lori right behind him. He could see Carol holding Sophia with tears streaming down her face right behind them and he mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She was ok.

"We need to set up watch for the night." Shane hissed, turning away from where Carl and Lori were wrapped in Rick's arms. Daryl nodded in agreement, watching Carol and Sophia out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll take first watch." He volunteered, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder.

I'll start working on the bodies." Jim said, "you give me a hand Glenn?" The kid nodded, looked pale as he stared at Andrea and her sister.

Dale began to herd the shocked Grimes family with Carol and her daughter and the other families towards the biggest tent near the RV. Glenn and T-dog headed for the bodies, picking up a pick along the way. All of them trying to ignore Andrea's anguished cries over her sister's body. Daryl ignored them all and hoisted himself up onto the top of the RV, trying not to listen to the soft cries of Sophia that came from the tent next to the RV.

It was gonna be a long night.

-0-

Daryl was the first one awake then next morning, despite the fact he was up late on watch. He woke on his back, arm tucked under his head on the roof of the RV.

"Good morning." Dale peered over his shoulder from the lawn chair to greet him, his gun posed and ready to take down anything that appeared from those trees.

Daryl hoisted himself up and leaped off the RV, noticing Glenn and Jim had been replaced by Shane and T-dog.

They'd gotten all the bodies of their people lined up and were currently working on moving the dead walkers into a pile. T-dog gave a nod at Daryl and pointed to the pick leaning against the RV, indicating he should start taking care of people.

Daryl made his way over to the line of people, hoisting the pick over his shoulder and bringing it down through the brain. He pulled the body out of the line and off to the side, then continued on to the next one.

He was only a few bodies into the line when he saw Carol emerge from her tent alone, looking more worn then he'd ever seen her before.

"A walker bit him! A walker got Jim!" The announcement instantly put everyone on edge, several people jumping up and running over in panic. Rick pulled everyone in a circle to talk when the large bite wound on Jim's chest was revealed.

They decided not to kill him, and Daryl went back to smashing in the heads of the dead.

He was about to pick the next body in line when he saw Carol approach him, her eyes glued to the body he was about to hit.

"I'll do it." She said so softly he almost didn't hear her. "He's my husband." She reached her hand out for the pick, and when she looked at him their eyes met, and suddenly he was 12 years in the past, staring into the eyes of the woman who was always there for him.

He handed the pick to her without a word, watching the tears stream down her face as she raised the pick and brought it down on the head of what used to be Ed. He watched as she brought the pick down several times on that selfish bastards head, and when she finally stopped and dropped the pick on the ground, crying, he felt his heart actually break a bit for her.

-0-

They'd finished burying the bodies later that afternoon. Then they'd all changed into fresh clothes, cleaned up as best they could then hiked out to the spot they'd dug up for the graves. Afterwards, they trudged back to the camp in silence to figure out their next move, Rick's idea of the CDC all on their minds.

Daryl was about to fetch his crossbow in his tent when he saw Carol slip quietly into the woods by herself, Sophia walking back with Carl and Lori to the fire pit.

Without a word he grabbed his crossbow and followed her into the woods, if anything just to make sure she was safe.

She was sitting against a tree when he found her, a small cloth in her hands. He purposely stepped on a twig to alert her of his presence and her head shot up, her eyes meeting with his.

"Daryl," she said softly. "What are you doing here?" The sleeveless flannel shirt he was wearing was already starting to stick to his body in the heat. But she made sure not to note that.

"Saw ya sneak of by yerself just wanted to make sure ya were ok." It was then that he noticed the corner of her lip was swollen and bruised, bleeding lightly. He immediately approached and dropped down in front of her.

"what the hell ya doin' woman?" he barked, taking the small rag from her hand and gently sponging her lip with it. Her eyes didn't meet his and he knew.

"Just clumsy is all." That was her excuse?

"What, did ya trip and fall inta his fist?" Daryl snorted, and Carol let out a soft sigh because she knew she'd been found out. She'd never been able to hide from him.

"He's dead now, so what does it matter? Sophia and I are on our own now." Daryl wanted to punch a tree. That bastard had her so beaten down she didn't even believe she could survive without him!

"Stop yer worryin' woman. You n' that little girl are gonna be just fine. Good lord." He stood up abruptly.

"Ya ain't got nothin' to worry about." She looked up at him in confusion.

"I'll watch out fer ya, and yer little girl." He said, and then he was stomping through the woods back towards camp, his cheeks tinged pink from embarrassment. What was he thinking? 'I'll watch out fer ya and yer little girl' lord, he probably scared her off already!

Little did he know, she was watching him leaving wishing she had as much courage as he did to tell him the truth that he deserved.

-0-

Sophia always loved to read. Even when she was a little toddler, she'd curl up in her mother's arms and beg for Carol to read her a story. It didn't matter what time of day it was, it didn't matter where or what she was doing, when Sophia wanted to read, she was persistent until she got it.

Then Sophia learned to read when she was 4, and suddenly she went through a stage where she wouldn't let Carol read to her at all. She wanted to read to herself or her mother instead of the other way around.

It had always puzzled Carol where Sophia had gotten her love of books. Carol preferred music over books, and she was pretty sure Ed never even knew what a book was. So where had she gotten in from? She briefly remembered Daryl mentioning that he learned to read at a young age as well, but then he mumbled something about 'no pictures' and she took that as a cue he wasn't much of a reader and let sleeping dogs lie.

But then one day a memory hit her from a time she returned one of Merle's clean shirts to his tent that she'd mistaken for Eds. Tucked deep into the breast pocket was a tiny version of the new testament of the bible. She shrugged it off then, wondering if maybe it had been forgotten by someone else. Merle just wasn't the bible reading type.

But now, Carol remembered a time when she was in high school and had gone looking for Daryl as his house. She knew to be careful when she approached, in case their dad was home, but he rarely was around this time. Merle had been in jail several times by then, coming home in between his arrests to party it up with his friends and cause trouble for his brother. But as Carol approached the house that day it was quiet, all the lights were off and there was an eerie stillness around the place. It didn't take Carol long to notice Merle sitting on the front porch, sitting on the steps leaning against a front post with his nose buried in a book. For as good of a tracker Merle was, Carol was surprised he didn't hear her approach until she was practically on top of him. When he finally did notice her, he slammed the book shut and practically tossed it aside, swearing loudly.

"Damn mouse! How'd ya get over here so quiet like?" Carol giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand to try and sniffle the giggles.

"I didn't Merle; you just weren't paying any attention." He swore again, his expression letting her know that he was not amusing. It almost started another bout of giggles.

"Daryl home? I came looking for him." She admitted, trying to force the smile down that keep threating to appear.

"No I ain't seen him! I look like his god-damn babysitter or somethin'?" Carol peered curiously towards the book Merle had been reading, lying next to the door along with two other books. _Advance Mathematical Concepts_.

"I never knew you were such a curious reader Merle." Carol remarked, one eyebrow raised as she nodded towards the book. For a brief second, Merle looked like a deer caught in the headlights before he started swearing loudly again, snatching the book up along with _The Seven Wonders of the World_ and, to her everlasting surprise, _Moby Dick_.

He snarled something unintelligible to her before stomping back into the house, the door slamming loudly behind him. Couple minutes later, Daryl came quietly out of the house, a piece of wood and a small knife in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at Carol and she shrugged.

"Mind telling' me why Merle just snarled 'throw yer nosy bitch back to the lake she came from?"

It amazed Carol the memory still made her laugh to this day. She'd never taken Merle for such a serious reader, but his outrageously defensive behavior had said otherwise.

Apparently Daryl wasn't the only one Sophia had inherited traits from.

* * *

I absolutely LOVE Merle. His character is fantastic in the show and I've had lots of fun writing him :D I definately see Merle being the serious closet reader type. I remember a quote he spoke in the series about woodbury have a damn fine library, and it just fit in perfect lol XD

Also, i think both our dixons boys are definately not given enough credit for how intellegent they are. Merle reminds me of someone i know who was incredibly smart in school but turned to drugs because he wasn't challenged enough. I absolutely see Merle being just like that. And we all know Daryl is a smarty pants with his skills. I gave him a carving skill because i definately see him being good with his hands and being the type to carve away when he gets bored; and we can't forget either of their phenomenal tracking skills XD overall, the dixons boys are both smart and good looking. And Sophia has inherited the best from them. Plus, we all see how loyal Merle is when it comes to Daryl, so it only makes sense he has a soft spot for the woman who made Daryl's childhood bearable, expect lots of over protective Merle scenes when it comes to Carol and Sophia!

ps. Carol definately strikes me as a musical person more than a reader. She just wasn't able to develope her talent due to her stupid husband.

You all have also probably noticed I changed their ages a little bit, made them a little younger than the series. I figured 23 and 21 was young enough to make the decisions they made. And who doesn't love Sohpia? So, in the present Carol is 35 and Daryl is 33. Its close enough I think.

Last thing, does anyone know the age difference between Merle and Daryl? I figure its around 7 years but i have no idea.


	3. Beauty and the Beast

Wow, you guys are amazing! I'm overwhelmed by all the support for this story! I really didn't think anyone was gonna like this and i was gonna be chased away by an angry mob with pitforks and torches or something lol And know that i am reading all your reviews, i'm just terrible at replying because i have a horrible memory and forget who i've replied too lol

But now my dear readers, I want to hear from YOU. I want to know what you want to see in this story. How should Sophia be found? Who finds her? Should Daryl and Carol get together? And if they do, should they have another child? Or shouldnt they? I wanna hear from you and know what you guys wanna see in this story :D

As always, i don't own the walking dead blah blah blah Carol and Daryl would be together by now if i did.

* * *

_Tale as old as time_

_True as it can be_

_Barely even friends_

_Then somebody bends_

_Unexpectedly_

_Just a little change_

_Small, to say the least_

_Both a little scared_

_Neither one prepared_

_Beauty and the Beast_

_-Céline Dion, Beauty and the Beast_

Daryl Dixon was a beast. He was practically born in the forest he was so in tune with it. His skills were usefully and necessary for survival. He may as well have been made to survive a zombie apocalypse. Daryl Dixon, a survivor of the human race in their worst hour.

So how the hell did he end up stuck in a tree trying to save Carol's little girl?

-0-

There were a lot of things in life Daryl never considered. He never considered following Merle's drug habits, or the possibility that he would ever escape his hometown.

But as he and the rest of the group celebrated at the CDC that night, knowing they were safe and warm and had food in their bellies, several bottles of alcohol making their way around the room, Daryl found himself watching Carol and her daughter smile, and considered what life would have been like if he and Carol had had a real chance.

It was later that he found her sitting alone in the massive library, reading a book quietly while her daughter slept peacefully in the next room. He simply leaned against the door frame to watch her read, remembering all the hours he'd spent doing the same thing years before.

He'd definitely had too much to drink, and that might have had something to do with why he had the courage to approach her at all. But she spotted him before he could say anything, and a genuine smile blessed her features before he could get a word out.

"Daryl? What brings you here?" He crossed the room to the bookshelf and picked a random one out, flipping it open to one of the pages.

"Came ta git a book." He said, peering down at the book he'd chosen. _Economic Stability._ "No pictures?"

She only giggled in response, folding the corner in the page of the book she was reading and closing it gently.

"Don't like to read Daryl?" she teased softly, he felt himself flush as he snapped the book shut and placed it back on the shelf. "Na I like ta read fine, I jest like looking at the pictures too." He reached over and pulled a book labeled _Secrets of the Deep_ off the shelf and began to look through the pictures, stopping and taking time to look at each one.

"When I was a little thin', my ma used ta get me lotsa picture books. They had photos of the ocean and jungle n' stuff and I always like to look at 'em." Carol was quiet as he talked, not wanting to ruin the moment as he opened up in a very unDaryl way.

"I ain't never been to the ocean." He said softly as he finished the ocean book, closing it and shoving it back into the shelf randomly. Carol thought her heart was going to break as she watched him stare at that book on the shelf, thinking about all the things in life Daryl had missed out on because of his father, because she had never told him about her daughter. She stood to her feet and made her way to where he was, gently pulling the ocean book he'd been looking at off the shelf and carrying it over to the couch, opening her bag sitting on the floor next to it and slipping the book inside. Daryl watched her, slightly dumbfounded as she winked at him.

"Jenner won't miss one book." She said, smiling softly. "You look tired. Why don't you sit here? There's plenty of room on this couch." Daryl obeyed, sitting next to her without a word.

"Mama?"

Sophia crept into the room, clutching her doll in her arms.

"Sophia? What's the matter?" Carol asked as Sophia made her way to her mother.

"I cut my finger." Sophia held out her hand, showing the bleeding digit to both Daryl and Carol. Carol took her daughter's hand in hers and proceeded to coo over her.

"Oh Sophia I'm so sorry. Let me clean that for you honey." Before Carol could react, Daryl stood up; reaching in the back pocket of his blue pants and pulling out the red rag he always carried with him. He held it out to Carol, who took it from him gratefully and began to dab at the cut on Sophia's hand.

Sophia studied Daryl intently while her mother cared for her hand, noticing the contours of his face, the way his brow furrowed, the curve of his cheekbones, the blue of his eyes.

"All done, back to bed for you young lady. It's way past your bedtime." Carol handed the rag back to Daryl before touching Sophia's nose affectionately and shooing her back to bed.

"Thank you Mr. Dixon." Sophia said softly before she returned to her bed.

"There ain't no way thet kid is Ed's." Daryl blurted out suddenly after Sophia had been gone several minutes. The red rag was back in his pocket and he was looking at the door Sophia had gone through. Carol's head shot up, thinking she was going to have a heart attack.

"You think what?" She managed to blurt out, unable to take her eyes of Daryl.

"Ain't no way that jackass is related ta that littl' girl." He said, "Jest no way. She don't even look like 'im."

"You're being silly Daryl." Carol said, her heart pounding. The redneck sat on the end of the couch, running his hands over his face.

"I told ya not to marry him, why didn'tcha listen?" Carol took a deep breath, knowing he was drunk and probably wouldn't be able to remember this later. She _prayed_ he wouldn't remember this later.

"I was stubborn. I never thought I'd find someone who was interested in me like he was. He was handsome and kind, at least back then. But I should have listened to you Daryl; I should have trusted your instincts. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you." She wasn't sure how he'd react while he was drunk, and she was sure he wouldn't remember it, but at least she was finally getting a chance to apologize after so many years.

"Hell woman, if I'd known ya'd wanted to get married so bad I woulda married ya."

Carol's jaw dropped. She had not been expecting _that._

"You… you would of… but you said…" Carol had no words. She just stared at the man who had been her best friend for years. "You said you'd never get married…"

"I was lyin'"

"Why would you lie?" Carol watched him intently, a mix of confusion and shock running through her.

"'cause there ain't no one I woulda' married but you."

"Carol do you have the soap?" Lori's voice carried down the hall and she poked her head around the corner, oblivious to the conversation she had interrupted. She shot Carol a puzzled look when she noticed Daryl sitting on the couch, then a concerned look when she saw the shock on Carol's face.

"uhhh soap, yes ,um, I think Andrea has it." Carol blurted out, her mind anywhere but soap.

"Everything ok?" Lori asked, watching Carol with a concerned look on her face. She stepped around the corner into the room, prepared to go to Carol when Daryl stood up abruptly.

"I should git outta here," he mumbled. Then to the shock of both Lori and Carol, he leaned over and kissed Carol full on the mouth, his hands on her face. And then he was gone, brushing past Lori and down the corridor to his own room.

"What was that?"

If there was one thing certain, Lori wasn't oblivious to the conversation anymore, but

Carol _really_ hoped that Daryl would be...

-0

Thank the lord.

Thank the merciful angels that existed Daryl didn't have a clue what had happened the night before.

He appeared almost last to breakfast, looking hung over and exhausted. The minute he sat down at the table and reached for the nearest plate, Lori shot Carol a questioning look and Carol shook her head, tucking her head into her plate and finishing her meal quietly.

"Mom, can I go with Carl to the play room?" Sophia asked as soon as her plate was clean.

"Yes, but you and Carl stay together!" Carol called as Sophia and Carl took off together.

"uhhhaahhhhh everyone stop yelling!" Glenn moaned from two seats away, his head resting on his arm on the table.

"No one has yelled Glenn." Rick snickered as he took a sip of his coffee, prompting Lori to whack him softly on the arm, which did nothing but make him snort with laughter.

T-dog walked by and clapped Glenn on the shoulder just as he moaned "uhhhhh never again…"

"Careful there Glenn with all that moanin' you're starting to sound like a walker." T-dog pointed out, causing everyone to start laughing even though they tried to hide it.

"What the hell happen to your neck?" T-dog asked Shane, referring to the three scratches on the side of his neck.

"I dunno, must have done it in my sleep." Shane replied, shrugging it off.

"Never seen you do that before." Rick remarked.

"Me either, not like me at all." Shane replied with a look at Lori.

"Good morning," Jenner greeted as he headed for the table to grab some coffee.

"Doc, I don't mean to bombard you with questions first thing." Dale started.

"But you will anyways." Jenner replied.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said bluntly.

-0-

Carol listened as Jenner explained the video of TS19 to the group, showing them the organic wiring and explaining each step of how the virus works.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked.

"Yes," Carol replied.

They watched as the resurrection occurred, triggering the brain stem as Dr. Jenner explained.

They continued to ask questions about what it could be, if anyone was still working to discover what this disease was.

And then Dale asked what happened when the clock hit zero.

-0-

They were doing everything to try and get the glass to break. Throwing chairs at it, shooting it, smashing it. Nothing would work.

"The glass won't break?" Sophia whispered.

And then Carol remembered the grenade. "Rick! I think I have something that might help."

"Carol I don't think a nail file is gonna help." Shane said sarcastically. Carol ignored him and went up to Rick.

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." She held out the grenade and he took it, racing over to the window and pulling the pin.

He shooed them back, then threw the grenade, racing for his life from the window.

There was an explosion, the glass in the window shattering like diamonds.

Everyone raced out, the men using the guns to take down walkers as they went. Just as they got to the cars, Andrea and Dale appeared, making a run for the cars.

"Dale get down!"

The building exploded.

-0-

Daryl was in his element, the place he knew best and where all the years he spent perfecting his tracking and hunting skills came alive. They'd escaped the CDC two days ago and were continuing on away from Atlanta, all of them dejected after what happened. They decided to stop for a couple days to get themselves in order, and Daryl was using the opportunity to escape into the woods to hunt. The map showed a large lake, surrounded by nothing but forest that Daryl was happy to get lost in.

With his crossbow in hand, Daryl became alive in the woods, a born hunter whose purpose was to hunt and provide. Club it over the head and drag it back to the cave if you will.

He'd been tracking a huge buck all morning, carefully following its trail and using his tracking skills to move in on the beast, knowing a kill like this would bring everyone's spirits up and fill all their bellies if just for a little while.

He was close, very close. He'd already got a shot into the deer's hindquarters, wounding it badly, and now it was time to move in for the ki-

"CARL!"

Daryl swore profusely under his breath as the buck startled and took of through the trees. He hiked his crossbow over his shoulder and started retracking his kill, mentally complaining about how noisy children were.

"Carl help!" Daryl took off without hesitation when he heard the cry for help, clearly in a young girl's voice.

The scream came from by the lake, and within seconds Daryl was standing at the edge of the lake, searching for the source of the scream.

It was Sophia, she was standing against a tree, her foot caught between two of the roots. Daryl wasted no time in getting to her, but just as he got there a low moan sounded from behind him. A walker, male, appeared from the trees with snapping teeth and arms raised to ensnare them and tear at their flesh.

Within seconds Daryl had whipped his crossbow off his shoulder and shot it between the eyes. He moved forward and grasped the arrow, pulling it out of the now motionless walker just as Sophia shouted "Look out!"

Two more walkers were headed their way, a male and a female with hungry, snapping teeth. Daryl shot both of them in the head and turned to Sophia, not even bothering with the arrows.

"Lemme see kid," he said, leaning down to inspect where her foot was caught.

"It's stuck," Sophia said bluntly. "And it's starting to hurt."

"Yea it's in there all right." Daryl confirmed after he'd gotten a good look. "I think I can get it out, but it ain't gonna feel pretty." Sophia swallowed hard and tried to nod bravely, but Daryl could see the tears starting to build up in her blue eyes.

"Hey," he said, looking her in the eyes. "I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya, we'll get ya back to yer mama." Sophia nodded again, this time a little more confidentially.

"uhhh, Mr. Daryl…"

"Jest Daryl kid. No mr." he grunted.

"Daryl, there's another walker coming!" she pointed into the trees, where a female walker wearing a fancy dress and jewelry was dragging herself towards them, snarling loudly.

"Damn it," Daryl muttered. "I'm gonna do this real quick kid, ya just hold on." Quickly Daryl knelt down next to Sophia and carefully tugged her foot out from between the roots. Quiet tears were rolling down Sophia's face as she dropped down to hold onto her injured foot.

Daryl didn't even bother with the crossbow this time. He slid his knife out and approached the walker, stabbing her in the eyes with a quick, practiced movement.

He turned back to Sophia and his heart nearly broke at the sight of her tear-stained face as she held her ankle.

"lemme see 'phia." Daryl knelt down next to her and gently examined the offended ankle. It wasn't broken, but the bruising suggested a light sprain.

"You'll be alright. Small sprain if anythin'." He slid one arm under Sophia's knees and the other around her back, easily lifting her scrawny frame off the ground.

"Ya need a sandwich or somethin' missy. Too damn scrawny." Sophia let out a giggle that immediately turned into a shriek as two walkers appeared out of the woods in front of them, one of them missing his entire arm.

"Hold on 'phia, we're gonna have ta make a run for it. Can't fight em' off when I got you." Sophia buried her face against the faded blue sleeveless shirt Daryl was wearing as he stumbled through the forest with her. He wasn't sure how long he kept going, but he was breathing hard by the time he stumbled into a small clearing with Sophia still curled up in his arms, figuring they'd moved pretty far into the forest by now.

He only looked back once, to see that two more walkers had joined the chase.

_Where the hell are all these comin' from?_ He wondered as he immediately went into survival mode, calmly taking in his surroundings to figure out what to do.

He quickly spotted a large maple tree 20 feet to his left and ran to it, hoisting Sophia up onto his shoulder.

"'Phia, I need ya to climb the tree. Climb as high as ya can. I'll be right behind ya." Sophia nodded, her eyes wide as she clung to the nearest branch and worked to pull herself up without the use of her injured foot.

Daryl turned to face the walkers, arms raised and knife ready. There were now five in the chase, and a sixth one was emerging several feet away. Daryl stabbed the first one to approach and shoved it off, delivering a firm kick in the chest to the next walker before grabbing onto a branch and hoisting himself up the tree after Sophia, surprised to see that she was already several branches up the tree ahead of him.

"I'm comin' 'phia." She was staring past him to the small group of walkers gathered at the base of the tree, snarling and reach upwards towards them. Daryl pulled himself up to a large branch next to hers, pulling his crossbow off his back and sticking it safely into the branches. He only had 3 arrows left.

"Can they reach us up here?" she whispered to him.

"Na, they ain't that smart. We'll be safe up here for a while."

"Are we gonna be stuck out here for a long time?"

"I dunno, hopefully not too long."

"Daryl, are we going to die?"

"No Sophia, we're gonna be jest fine." He responded, not sure if he had just lied to Carol's little girl.

Sophia was silent for a while after that, curling up against the trunk of the tree while staring down at the snarling walkers. Daryl was quiet as well, concentrating on watching the forest, his mind running and working on how to keep Sophia safe and get them both out of here.

Several hours passed in silence. It didn't take long for the sun to set, and a chill was beginning to develop in the air. Daryl quickly noticed that Sophia was beginning to shiver. She was only wearing a pair of shorts and a thin t-shirt.

Without a second thought he unbuttoned the sleeveless shirt he was wearing and tossed it to Sophia, who looked up at him in confusion.

"Here 'phia, it's ain't much and it's dirty but it'll keep ya warm." Sophia shot him a smile and pulled the shirt over her body, feeling warmer already even though the sleeves were missing as she curled up against the tree. The vest was grimy like he said, but it was warm from being against Daryl's body and smelled foresty and comforting, the distinct scent of the Daryl lingering on the fabric.

It didn't take long for Sophia to notice the scars spread all over Daryl's body, thicker ones on his back and smaller ones, some round, on his upper arms and chest.

"Daryl, how did you get so many scars?" Daryl stiffened at the question, but he'd had a feeling she would have noticed sooner or later.

"Ya don't wanna know kid." He said bitterly. Sophia fiddled with the edge of his shirt, eyes downcast.

"My mama has lots of scars like that, she doesn't think I know about them, but I've seen them lots of times before." Daryl clenched one of the branches next to him, trying not to think about how Carol had gotten those scars, even though he already knew the answer.

"Mama says she just clumsy too, but I know that's not true." Sophia continued, her bright blue eyes boring holes in Daryl's head. "I know what my daddy did to my mama. Daryl, why did my daddy do that to her?"

Sophia's eyes met Daryl's then, and he could see the fear, the need for reassurance in her baby blues, he just didn't know if he could give it.

"My scars," Daryl said quietly, not even sure why he was telling this to her in the first place. He didn't tell anyone about his scars, especially little girls.

"My daddy gave me these. He wasn't nice either, like yer daddy." He was desperate enough to change the subject off Carol that he would open up to a little girl about his own rotten childhood.

"Didn't your daddy love you?" Sophia asked, and then continued on without waiting for an answer.

"My dad loves me; he gives me hugs a lot. But sometimes mama gets real mad at him when he does that and tells him to leave me be."

Sophia's voice faded away and Daryl's stomach began to sink with dread as realization hit him. Now he knew why Carol had desperately hated Ed. He clenched the branch again, failing to even notice how red his fist was getting as Sophia chatted away next to him

"'Phia," he said gruffly, cutting off her chatter. "Its best you get a bit of sleep now, I'll stay up and keep watch."

"You won't let them eat me will you?" Sophia whispered, glancing down worriedly at the still snarling hoard of walkers below.

"You ain't got nothin' to worry about kid, nothin's gonna eat you.

Daryl waited until Sophia tucked herself firmly in the branches, still wrapped snuggly in his shirt, and went to sleep.

Keeping himself awake would be easy if he just kept imagining his hands wrapped around Ed's neck.

* * *

And there you have it, a little insight into Daryl's past and why he likes the pictures lol. I hope Sophia isn't too out of character here, but i can really see her opening up to Daryl and feeling comfortable around him. I'm also having way too much fun picking out songs to go at the beginning of each chapter XD beauty and the beast just fit Soph and Daryl so well i had to use it.

I really REALLY wanted a good long chance for Sophia and Daryl to bond before they know they're related, form a sort of friendship before Daryl finds out he's a daddy XD I nearly passed out when Daryl was holding Judith and feeding her it was so adorable. I HAD to put a scene with him carrying Sophia in :D

I hope ya'll like this chapter XD I'm so not going to threaten to never update unless i get like 2984922 million reviews either, it pisses me off when authors do that like they're intitled to reviews. You gotta earn 'em buddy! but, reviews are very encouraging and do make it much more pleseant to write XD And don't forget to tell me your ideas! XD


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